April 3rd, back up at the reservoir on a glorious day, I've realised, in putting these pages together that I didn't see as many Crossbills in the Summer months and I thought maybe they move further into the forests but I've also realised there are a lot more other birds around, like Osprey for example so, my focus may not have been on these guys as much.
Whatever the reason, I still spotted this female up on a pine, ignoring me or her attention on something else.
One thing I noticed about this bird is a more orangey colour about her head, I still hadn't seen a male bird at all but I know they are a rusty red colour. Maybe the colours on all birds change into breeding season?
I've cropped in a bit closer with the shot above so you might see that she is darker around the head.
Whatever, she sat long enough for me to get a nice handful of shots and the light was great.
The shot above looks like she's thinking "are you still here?"
Something caught her attention and she was off.
That was it for the 3rd, plenty other birds around and I was getting more and more shots of them now, including Osprey.
April 17th and back for a walk and spotting session on yet another beautiful day.
I spotted this female
When she decided she'd had enough of me she flitted off and I headed on up the trail, it was on my way back down that I saw a young bird, very briefly.
Crossbill youngster
Crossbill youngster
As you can see, the young birds are a grey / green mottled colour, I have seen some birds, probably older than this one, where they are starting to show their adult colours.
